NITTANY LINES: 'It's a new Penn State,' O'Brien says

(Mark Wogenrich )

August 06, 2012

Penn State began preseason drills Monday with both the familiar and the new. Head coachBill O'Brien was dressed in all blue, defensive coordinator Ted Roof urged one player to "move your a--" and strength coach Craig Fitzgerald wore a T-shirt with the word "Dominator" on the back.

Meanwhile, on the field, Penn State's trio of quarterbacks threw four interceptions during late-practice drills, signaling a month of work for the position.

"I want Penn State to turn the page and move forward understanding why we are," O'Brien said Monday. "It's a new Penn State, it's a new Penn State football program. We do have some restrictions, but we all know why they're there."

The first preseason practice had its shaky moments, and there was a noticeable lack of depth in some spots, particularly the secondary, where receivers covered other receivers during position drills. Still, O'Brien sounded positive about the start of his first camp and spoke only about players who remained with the team.

O'Brien also noted several times that the team understands why sanctions were imposed and that it will participate in off-field activities involving children.

"We've got a lot of good things going on here," O'Brien said. "Number one is, we've got to understand why we're in the position we're in, and we've got to understand our responsibility to the community, to children and to child abuse organizations. These kids understand that, and we're going to talk about that quite a bit, and we're going to show what mean by that."

Regarding the team, O'Brien had plenty of praise for sophomore Bill Belton, who replaces Silas Redd as the No. 1 tailback. Belton looked sharp in drills, for which players wore only helmets and shells, and has established himself as the primary back, though he played wide receiver last year.

"It's Bill Belton's time to shine," O'Brien said. "He came out here today ready to go. ... He's a good football player and he was going to play this year. [Redd's departure] is definitely going to affect the depth a little bit, but we're not retooling everything because one player left. This is about a whole team, not one player."

Elsewhere, left tackle Donovan Smith, a redshirt freshman who O'Brien has called a potential four-year starter, sat out practice because a hamstring injury. O'Brien said it wasn't serious. Mike Farrell worked in Smith's place.

The incoming freshmen lifted Monday morning but did not practice with the team. O'Brien said the newcomers will practice later today as they learn the team's terminology. Jamil Pollard, who left for Rutgers, is the only incoming freshman to transfer, O'Brien said.

Linebacker Mike Mauti practiced with a knee brace, which he said he had not been wearing during the late stages of his rehab. Mauti said recently that he's 100 percent after sustaining the second ACL tear of his career last August.

Derek Day, Zach Zwinak and Curtis Dukes took carries in the backfield, which used primarily single-back sets. Dukes did not practice during spring drills to concentrate on academics.